Missed fasts due to menses. What to do?

by Asma bint Shameem

🌿 ANSWER🌿 Yes you should make up those days as they are a kind of DEBT due to Allaah. 🍃Aaishah radhi Allaahu anhaa said: “That – meaning menstruation – used to happen to us and we were told to make up the fasts but we were not told to make up the prayers.” (Muslim) 🔺So what to do❓ 1⃣ Make sincere Taubah to Allaah for not making up the fasts in time 2⃣ Calculate the number of days that you missed, add them up and fast them one by one. You can make up these days on any day, but you can also fast on Mondays and Thursdays, or on the 13th, 14th and 15th of every month (ayyaam al-Beedh) or on the 9th and 10th of Muharram or on the day of Arafah, or in the first nine days of Dhul-Hijjah etc. This way, you get the reward of fasting these Sunnah days as well. 3⃣ Some of the ulama are of the opinion that you should also feed one person for each day you missed. But others said that it’s not obligatory to do that. So the strongest opinion according to shaikh Ibn Uthaymeen is that it’s MUSTAHABB to do that. In other words, if you are ABLE to do that and you want to be on the safe side, then feed a person for each day you missed. But that’s only if a person is able. 🍃 Shaikh Ibn Uthaymeen said: “With regard to the words of the Sahaabah, their use as evidence is subject to further discussion if it goes against the apparent meaning of the Qur’aan. In this case, saying that it is obligatory to feed a poor person goes against the apparent meaning of the Qur’aan, because Allaah only enjoined making up the same number from other days, and He did not mention more than that. Based on this, we should not oblige the slaves of Allaah to do any more than they need to fulfil their duty. But what was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas and Abu Hurayrah may be interpreted as referring to what is mustahabb, not what is obligatory. The correct view with regard to this issue is that a person does not have to do anything more than making up the missed fasts, but he is sinning if he delays doing so. (Al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 6/451) Based on this, then what is necessary is to make up the fasts only, but if a person wants to be on the safe side and feed one poor person for each day missed, then that is good. And Allaah knows best.